Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-06-10
A DAKOTA LAND DISPUTE,
Four Murders and a Suicide Growing
ont of Dakota Land
Quarrel.
A Man Kills Three Persons. Fatally
Wounds Fourth and Commits
Snirina

HURON, DAKorA, June An appallinr
list of murders and one suicide iarkens
| half dozan homes in this county to- NIGHT.
L. L. Nelson was a prosperous farmer
living nine miles northeast of Huron. and
was beadle county commissioner three
years He and Mrs. Flora A. Shaw filed
simultaneously on a common claim. The
woman who was widow, began at once
living upon the land. In April, 1881, Neil
son stayed away from the claim for two
years, till he could prove upon another
claim. Ihe woman stuck to the land and
improved 1t. When she came TO prove mn
Nelson contested and when the decision
Went against him he Appealed success.
slVely to the commissioner and the Secre-
tary or the Interior, each of whom decid-
ed against the man and for the woman.
he refused to leave the land after all
these decisions, and when court order
was lssaed for him to vacate. he refused
to obey it. Saturday an order was
was made by Judge Spencer for Nelson
to show cause why he should not be fined
for contempt of coGrt On that same
day he frightened the widows son away
with threats to shoot him with gun he
held.
Early this morning the widow, with her
son and her sister and her brother, c. L.
Llman, and neighbor name George A.
Kelsey, proceeded to the field to 90 to
work. The uncle and his nephew began
piowing, the other three remaining in the
road by the field. When the plowmau
got away around they were not much sur
Prlsed to see Nelson come out of the
house, but when he went in and returned
with Il Nfe
THEY BECAME ALARMED.
The murderer came up in fifty yards of
Llman and fired at him, but Liman, seeing
his movements, hid behind his team and
got away IN safety, although Nelson shot
at him twice. Nelson then shot at Cor
win Shaw, young man 21 years, and who
mad started to run. The ball struck him
and went through his head; he fell dead.
The tigers next shot was at Kelsey, who
was struck in the side, the ball going
clear through the body and out on the
other side. 1t also struck one of the
kidneys. He Is said to be dying. When Mrs.
Shaw saw that her son had fallen she and
her sister stopped and would run no
further, as Nelson was gaining upon
them. lie cana up close to them and
was seen to stand and talk with them as
he reloaded hi gun, and then while Miss
Llman was on her knees begging for her
life he held the muZzls up to three feet
of her face and shot her through the head,
she falling dead at his feet. In another
instant he leveled the gun at Mrs. Shaw
and shot her through the head: another
ball went crushing through her spine,
and yet another in her side, either being
sufficient to kill. He then turned to Hiss
Llman, stopped down over her warm body
and stabbed her in the breast with a
long knife; then he left the field, hav-
ing destroyed all that he could.
Reaching home few moments later, he
went into his house, saying in a gleeful
tone to his wife: "WelI, ma, there's three
less of that crowd" as though he had
destroyed all of that generation. mo
ment later he went out of the house into
the yard. His wife heard a shot and,
looking out, she saw her husband falling
to the ground. He had placed the muz-
zle of the murderous weapon to his right
temple and blown his own brains out
When the neighbOrs reached this Col
gotha they found three murdered and a
fourth nearly dead, and the cause of it all
corpse by its own hand. There were
no arrests to make, and no need of in
quest. The picture told it's own story.